Help With Audio, sound file on web site? Options

[handmadetk]

My Webpage

Hi, I have just set up a website for my job as a luthier, making electric guitars, basses and mandolins and I am wanting to include a sound clipping of the instruments. We have an imac dvd+ computer, and am not sure how to make a digital imput to record. Any suggestions most gratefully received!!
Sandy

[Synthetic]

well there are many possibilites... it depends on how good of quality you want to get out of the instruments and how much money you are willing to spend. You could actually use the built-in mic and simple sound to record short samples then use a free app like SoundApp fournd at most shareware sites like cnet.com to convert the audio to a .wav file. But if you want something with more professional results... at the cheapest you can go with an imic for $40 US and then get a nice mic such as a Sure SM57 to record instruments. You might want to consider a better audio app too and there lie a ton more possibilites depending on how much you want to spend.

Ideally I would suggest getting a nice 2 channel interface with built-in preamps like the Mbox, Quattro... etc. If file size is important for your sounds... you might want to compress the samples into mp3 or .ra files from there. There are a lot of variables the revolve around quality and cost... I suggest going to www.sweetwater.com and look at their stuff. Then contact them on phone... you can consult with them and they will help point you in the right direction for your needs. You can contact my rep, David at ext. #1398 if you like. He is very helpful and they have the best customer support in the business. Just tell him Dean from Ohio sent you if do call ;-) If you compare their prices... they are sometimes 5%-10% higher on some things compared to say musiciansfriend.com but I pay the extra sometimes just to get the support which is 24/7 I think and if there is ever a problem... they will even pay for shipping on returns which most others don't offer.

Hope that helps a little.